Disease in the Developing World

News Releases

Public Release: 16-May-2014 Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & PreventionAnalysis finds wide variation in lung cancer rates globally
The only recent comprehensive analysis of lung cancer rates for women around the world finds lung cancer rates are dropping in young women in many regions of the globe, pointing to the success of tobacco control efforts.
American Cancer Society

Public Release: 15-May-2014 Cell ReportsProtein sharpens salmonella needle for attack
A tiny nanoscale syringe is Salmonella's weapon. Using this, the pathogen injects its molecular agents into the host cells and manipulates them to its own advantage. Scientists at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel demonstrate in their current publication in Cell Reports that a much investigated protein, which plays a role in Salmonella metabolism, is required to activate these needles and makes the replication and spread of Salmonella throughout the whole body possible.

Public Release: 15-May-2014 PLOS PathogensHow some trypanosomes cause sleeping sickness while others don't
Trypanosome parasites transmitted by tsetse flies cause devastating diseases in humans and livestock. Different subspecies infect different hosts: Trypanosoma brucei brucei infects cattle but is non-infectious to humans, whereas T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense cause sleeping sickness in humans. A study published on May 15th in PLOS Pathogens reveals how humans can fight off some trypanosomes but not others.

Public Release: 14-May-2014 Cochrane LibraryZinc supplementation boosts immune system in children, Cochrane Review finds
Zinc supplements reduce diarrhoea and other infections in malnourished children, and may prevent death, according to a new study published in The Cochrane Library. The study is the first Cochrane systematic review to focus on zinc as a means to prevent childhood death, including deaths caused by diarrhea, one of the biggest killers of under-fives.

Public Release: 14-May-2014 Science Translational MedicineHitting a moving target
A vaccine or other therapy directed at a single site on a surface protein of HIV could in principle neutralize nearly all strains of the virus -- thanks to the diversity of targets the site presents to the human immune system.
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, National Institutes of Health, Canadian Institutes of Health, Gates Foundation

Public Release: 13-May-2014 Annals of Anthropological PracticeUnderstanding the 1918 flu pandemic can aid in better infectious disease response
The 1918 Flu Pandemic infected over 500 million people, killing at least 50 million. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has analyzed the pandemic in two remote regions of North America, finding that despite their geographical divide, both regions had environmental, nutritional and economic factors that influenced morbidity during the pandemic. Findings from the research could help improve current health policies.

Public Release: 13-May-2014 PLOS MedicinePretreatment snack improves uptake of schistosomiasis treatment in schoolchildren
Provision of a snack before mass treatment of schistosomiasis with praziquantel leads to increased uptake of treatment in school-aged children in Uganda, according to a study published in this week's PLOS Medicine. Simon Muhumuza and colleagues from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda found that 93.9 percent of children reported taking praziquantel in schools that offered a snack before treatment compared with 78.7 percent of children in schools that did not offer a snack.
Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Public Release: 12-May-2014 VaccinePSC, Hopkins computer model helps Benin vaccinate more kids at lower cost
Researchers from Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have used HERMES, their modeling software, to help the Republic of Benin in West Africa determine how to bring more lifesaving vaccines to its children.
Results from the HERMES model have helped the country enact some initial changes in their vaccine delivery system, which may lead to further changes nationwide.

Public Release: 12-May-2014 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'Shocking' Stanford video reveals the surprising truth about cell wall growth
For a century biologists have thought they understood how the gooey growth that occurs inside cells caused their protective outer walls to expand.
Now, using new microscopic video techniques, Stanford researchers have captured the visual evidence to prove the prevailing wisdom wrong.
National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 8-May-2014 Molecular & Cellular ProteomicsHepatitis C virus: How viral proteins interact in human cells
Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have for the first time decrypted the interaction network of hepatitis C virus proteins in living human cells. Their findings will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms behind inflammatory liver disease caused by hepatitis C viruses and open up new avenues for therapy development. The results are published in the specialist journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

Public Release: 8-May-2014 Genome ResearchSingle cell genome sequencing of malaria parasites
A new method for isolating and genome sequencing an individual malaria parasite cell has been developed by Texas Biomed researchers and their colleagues.
Texas Biomedical Forum, National Institutes of Health

Public Release: 7-May-2014 NatureAs CO2 levels rise, some crop nutrients will fall
Researchers have some bad news for future farmers and eaters: As carbon dioxide levels rise this century, some grains and legumes will become significantly less nutritious than they are today. The new findings are reported in the journal Nature.

Public Release: 6-May-2014 PLOS MedicineWater from improved sources is not consistently safe
Although water from improved sources (such as piped water and bore holes) is less likely to contain fecal contamination than water from unimproved sources, improved sources in low- and middle-income countries are not consistently safe, according to a study by US and UK researchers, published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
WaterAid UK

Public Release: 6-May-2014 PLOS MedicineMass vaccination campaigns reduce the substantial burden of yellow fever in Africa
Yellow fever, an acute viral disease, is estimated to have been responsible for 78,000 deaths in Africa in 2013 according to new research published in PLOS Medicine this week. The research by Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London, UK and colleagues from Imperial College, WHO and other institutions also estimates that recent mass vaccination campaigns against yellow fever have led to a 27 percent decrease in the burden of yellow fever across Africa in 2013.
Medical Research Council, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Seventh Union Framework Program

Public Release: 5-May-2014 Global Public HealthDomestic violence victims more likely to take up smoking
One-third of women around the world have experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of their intimate partners with consequences from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression, to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Now, in a new study in 29 low-income and middle-income countries, researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health have identified yet another serious health risk associated with intimate partner violence: smoking.
UK-US Fulbright Postgraduate Student Award

Public Release: 2-May-2014 EurosurveillanceMERS coronavirus can be transmitted from camel to man
The MERS coronavirus is currently spreading very rapidly in the Arab world. An infection could affect human beings as well as camels, and has already cost more than 100 human lives. Scientists at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna show that the MERS coronaviruses in man and camels from a single region are almost identical. Their conclusions indicate transmission of the virus from animals to man, and were published in the Journal Eurosurveillance.

Public Release: 2-May-2014 The LancetSharp decline in maternal and child deaths globally, new data show
Since the start of an international effort to address maternal and child mortality, millions of lives have been saved globally, a new study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington shows.

Public Release: 29-Apr-2014 Journal of Insect BehaviorSaving crops and people with bug sensors
University of California, Riverside researchers have created a method that can classify different species of insects with up to 99 percent accuracy, a development that could help farmers protect their crops from insect damage and limit the spread of insect-borne diseases, such as malaria and Dengue fever.
Vodafone Americas Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Public Release: 29-Apr-2014NIH center sets new goals for global health research and training
Global health research and training efforts should focus on combatting the growing epidemic of noncommunicable diseases, better incorporating information technology into research and training, and more effectively converting scientific discoveries into practice in low-resource settings, according to the Fogarty International Center's new strategic plan, released today. Fogarty is the component of the National Institutes of Health solely focused on supporting global health research and training, and coordinating international research partnerships across the agency.

Public Release: 28-Apr-2014 Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesDecrease in large wildlife drives an increase in rodent-borne disease and risk to humans
Populations of large wildlife are declining around the world, while zoonotic diseases -- those transmitted from animals to humans -- are on the rise. A team of Smithsonian scientists and colleagues have discovered a possible link between the two. They found that in East Africa, the loss of large wildlife directly correlated with a significant increase in rodents, which often carry disease-causing bacteria dangerous to humans.